May 29 Deadline for Hospitals to Apply for Low-volume Adjustment Approaching

The Bipartisan Budget Act retroactively extended the enhanced low-volume payment adjustment, which provides an add-on payment to qualifying low-volume hospitals to help improve access to care in rural areas. In order to receive the enhanced payments for fiscal year 2018, a hospital must send its Medicare Administrative Contractor a written request for low-volume hospital status for receipt by May 29. CMS will be issuing guidance on the exact manner in which it intends to make low-volume payments for FY 2018, given that a portion will be made retroactively.